Situated on Historic Block in Downtown Chattanooga
by Harmon Jolley
posted December 9, 2007
) Chattanooga Steak House occupied the remodeled W&A Railroad depot. Click to enlarge. |
The problem is that, just like Mister Ed the talking horse, the frog only sings in the presence of his owner. Penniless from having squandered his life’s savings to promote the frog, the demolition worker puts the frog into the cornerstone of a new building being constructed in 1956. The cartoon moves forward one hundred years to 2056, when a futuristic demolition worker is taking down the building and discovers the frog (amazingly, alive after that many years).. The cycle of greed, as well as demolition/construction of buildings then repeats.
One may look at various parcels of property around Chattanooga, and see the same cycle of building up and tearing down. One such location is the block outlined by Market, Broad, and Tenth streets and M.L. King Boulevard. Though now the home of the Electric Power Board office, it was previously a very large surface parking lot that was expected in the early 1980’s to become the location of Chattanooga’s tallest skyscraper – a local branch of the United American Bank. Rewinding the clock further, it was famous as the site of the Rogers Theater.
Between the 1850’s and 1950’s, the block had a railroad theme. In 1851, the Western & Atlantic Railroad, which was owned by the State of Georgia, built a two-story combination passenger and freight depot on this block. Chattanooga’s southern border ended at Ninth Street (present-day M.L. King), so the depot was actually beyond the city limits.
By 1857, the growing rail center of Chattanooga needed a single depot that could serve the various rail companies that had entered the city. The Western and Atlantic, Nashville and Chattanooga, and Memphis and Charleston railroads contracted to build a new depot one block to the west. This was later known as the Union Depot, and was analogous to today’s airports which handle incoming flights of many air carriers.
The W&A Railroad depot continued to be used for rail offices and freight. Under both the Confederate and Federal occupations of Chattanooga, the structure was used as a commissary, barracks, and other uses. In the 1890’s, returning Civil War veterans commented that the W&A depot was one of few buildings still recognizable from the war years.
In 1902, however, the Chattanooga Times reported on the “Passing of a Landmark.” A large portion of the W&A depot was being torn down to make room for storefronts. Demolition work revealed the old platform in front of the depot. Hitch rings were still attached.
The excavation also showed that the present sidewalk around the block was seven feet higher than when the depot was first put into service. Much of downtown Chattanooga has been filled in over the years in order to improve drainage.
Though partially knocked down, the old depot managed to stay alive on a smaller scale. The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis (NC&StL) railroad, which leased the W&A Railroad from the State of Georgia between 1890 and 1969, operated a ticket office in the portion of the structure that faced Ninth Street.
By 1930, the building at last was vacated by the railroad. Meanwhile, SpiroVezdoon made plans to move to Chattanooga, after previously living in Hot Springs, Arkansas and Birmingham, Alabama. In 1931, he opened the Chattanooga Steak House in the old rail depot. Under his ownership, the restaurant expanded three times.
After experiencing ill health, Spiro Vezdoon sold his restaurant to E. Clyde Green, who also owned other restaurants in downtown. Mr. Green advertised the Chattanooga Steak House as the home of “Western steaks and chops, Southern fried chicken, and sea foods.” The eatery was convenient to rail passengers of both the Union Depot and Terminal Station, and was also close to downtown stores and theaters.
All was going well for the former train station until 1959. The Chattanooga Times reported on September 15, 1959 that a section of Ninth Street would be widened in order to carry an increased volume of traffic for the new West Side Freeway. From Cherry Street westward to the new expressway, buildings on both sides of Ninth Street would be demolished.
The Chattanooga Steak House was in the crosshairs of the transit. An important structure from Chattanooga’s railroad past was torn down in order to serve the newer form of transportation – automobiles. Ironically, Spiro Vezdoon had just come out of retirement to buy the Mexican Chili King Restaurant on the north side of Ninth Street at Market. That building, too, was demolished.
Like “One Froggy Evening” tells us, buildings are always being erected and demolished. It’s the inevitable thing we call “progress.”
If you have memories of the Chattanooga Steak House or W&A Railroad depot, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@bellsouth.net.
An excellent book on Chattanooga’s rail history is “Pardon Me… Is That the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?” by David H. Steinberg. Copies are available at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library.
) Photo by courtesy of Chattanooga-Hamilton County Library Western & Atlantic depot in 1861. Click to enlarge. |
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